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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2005-06-23, Page 5THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 2005. PAGE 5. Other Views Not to be paranoid but...we’re next "Whvasion of the Body Snatchers, an old sci- t fi cult movie from the ’50s. is a classic JL study in paranoia. It tells the story of an alien invasion of our planet by mysterious human-sized seed pods. The pods show up in basements, in greenhouses, in tool sheds - even on a pool table. They 'take over’ humans one by one, but they don’t kill them. They just turn them into walking, talking, emotionless zombies. In the last scene of the movie, the hero, who has watched his friends and loved ones turn into ■pod people', is running down a highway, fleeing the menace. At the edge of exhaustion, he turns to the camera and screams “YOU’RE NEXT'” Well. um. not to be paranoid or anything but, ah...we’re next. 1 refer, albeit obliquely, to the eerily named iPod, the sleek and sexy portable music player that was first marketed by Apple last year and is currently selling like hotcakes. The iPod is to the old Sony Walkman as a Porsche Carrera is to a John Deere tractor. A Walkman usually holds just one disc at a time. The iPod can hold thousands upon thousands of songs and still sit on your hip, as unobtrusive as a Fido phone. It even has a ‘shuffle’ feature which allows the user to ‘randomize’ his or her song selections. You become your own deejay. You create a sound track to accompany your life. This makes the iPod not so much an entertainment system as a body extension. The iPod also allows the user to connect to the internet, to on-line music stores and to other users. For serious fans, once they’re in Premier named sex symbol abroad Ontario has its first premier named an international sex symbol, but this novel rating should not be accepted entirely at face value. Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty has been chosen as a 'hottie’ among world politicians by a British newspaper that pointed out while still under-50 he leads Canada’s most populous province. The term ‘hottie’, for those unfamiliar with current jargon, means someone considered sexy, a male earlier generations would have called a hunk, heartlhrob, ladies’ man or matinee idol when movies drew large afternoon audiences. This accolade is not as impressive as it sounds, first because looks are a matter of personal taste and beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the paper picked McGuinty from photographs of politicians. On a good day in a favourable light the premier can appear reasonably presentable, but other times looks angular and gawky and in need of a good meal. Although he always impresses as the youngish man known to have power among mostly older-looking guys. But when the Progressive Conservatives ran TV ads charging McGuinty was “not up to the job.” they had no trouble finding a photograph in which he could be considered furtive, untrustworthy and cornered, like a criminal in a police mug shot. McGuinty has been called sexy before, briefly when he was in opposition and newspapers reported Liberal insiders were finding women saying this in their polls, but insiders always find favourable impressions of their leader. • The Liberals already were considered more popular with women than premier Mike Harris’s Tories, but this was attributed to his cutting social programs and being personally harsh and confrontational. The Liberals claimed women also felt Arthur Black their iPod aural cocoon, there’s really very little reason to come out. Which helps explain those sleepwalking, head-bobbing, off-in-a-trance people I keep bumping into on the street. Pod people. Not surprisingly, dedicated iPodders are exhibiting some distinctively abnormal behavioural tics - especially when they are untimely yanked away from their iPods. Sara Scalenghe is a Washington graduate student who was the victim of a burglary recently. The thief broke into her apartment and stole some cash, her digital camera, an heirloom gold necklace... And worst of all, her iPod. It contained her 50 favourite songs, a university course dissertation and several recorded conversations with friends. “I know it sounds silly,” says Sara, “but it changed everything. I was really upset. I can't explain it, but it hurt.” Scalenghe was so distraught that she even gave up going to the gym for her regular exercise. She couldn’t bear to work out without her favourite tunes endlessly unspooling in her ear. It was even worse for Washington ’s Park Eric Dowd McGuinty was sexy and “fetching.” but this did not stampede them to vote for him in the, 1999 election, because Harris retained his majority. McGuinty also was said to look like Hollywood actor Anthony Perkins and there was some truth to this, but Perkins’s strong suit was not looking sexy. He was lean, even emaciated and brooding, so some women may have liked to mother him. He was also best known for his role as Norman Bates, deranged hotel-keeper who murdered heroine in a shower in the movie Psycho. The Bates character was so notorious New Democrat leader Howard Hampton tried to link McGuinty to it in an election and complained Liberal propagandists seeking to boost McGuinty were “trying to turn Norman Bates into John Wayne,” but the Liberals objected and forced an apology. The murder in the shower scene also recently was voted the most terrifying ever. This was definitely not the face a girl would yearn to take home to mother. The only earlier Ontario premier called sexy was Liberal David Peterson, who was tall and had regular features, although was prematurely gray. A magazine gushed he was “beautiful in the style of a Gainsborough portrait, with Cupid’s- bow mouth and large, expressive eyes.” A newspaper called him a lean, mean sexy machine and the admired New York governor Mario Cuomo said if he was as good-looking. accountant John Hoctor. A thief tossed his pad and made off with his digital camera, a laptop and an iPod containing more than 2,000 songs. Hoctor had spent weeks hunched over his laptop, transferring his extensive CD collection onto his computer’s hard drive and then onto his iPod. All gone. “1 have to start all over again,” he says. And he doesn’t look like he’s got the strength to do it. For those of us outside the iPod force field, the answer seems academic, if not mundane. Get over it. It’s organized noise for God's sake. But for people under the spell, it's pretty serious. Anita Boss, a forensic psychologist, says it's critical. “Everybody has a lot of memories they associate with music," she says, "and musical taste is usually very important to people. You actually have a piece of identity theft here. Anytime something is stolen that is so personal, victims are going to have a reaction like that. It’s not the same as stealing a coat.” Well, I guess. And I guess it’s not going to get better any time soon. Sony has just applied for a patent for a revolutionary method (developed for the blind and deaf) of beaming images and sounds directly into a person’s brain. I figure it will take advertisers approximately four point nine nanoseconds to glom on to this technology and apply it to the merchandising of mattresses, penis extension schemes and cough remedies. Excuse me while I scream: “WE’RE NEXT!” he would run for president. But Peterson won only one election, while Tory premier William Davis, who was clean- cut and sturdily built as a former university football player but never called handsome or dashing, won four. Canadians also should not place a lot of reliance in the judgment of British media. This writer covered Canada for almost all major British papers for more than two decades. They knew little about Canada and were prone to report prime minister Brian Mulroney’s marriage was in imminent danger of breaking up, whereas many years later it still is intact, and that Prince Andrew at school near Peterborough risked being torn apart by bears. They have bears in Canada, don’t they? The U.K. paper probably needed a picture of a politician not in his dotage in a hurry and came across one of a reasonably presentable the ’ McGuinty. It would not have been as the scientifically researched as it sounds. Letters Policy The Citizen welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and should include a daytime telephone number for the purpose of verification only. Letters that are not signed will not be printed. Submissions may be edited for length, clarity and content, using fair comment as our guideline. The Citizen reserves the right to refuse any letter on the basis of unfair bias, prejudice or inaccurate information. As well, letters can only be printed as space allows. Please keep your letters brief and concise. Bonnie Gropp The short of it Give us names The selections have been made for another year and our communities have honoured their Citizens of the Year. Each spring, from nominations submutted by residents, a committee from each of the towns of Blyth and Brussels agonizes over whom should be recognized. My role is simply as liaison between the committee and The Citizen which sponsors the award. As a result 1 hear their discussions and their reasons. It is often an extremely difficult decision. Ironically, it is also often during discussions that names are mentioned of people who were not nominated. It is unfortunate that someone from the community doesn’t think to put the names forward when the nominations are being accepted. When the form is first included in our newspaper at the beginning of the year, it is typical for merely a handful of names to be submitted. As the deadline nears, we often publish a request that people consider nominating someone and usually receive many more, giving the committee a good deal to mull over. However, there could and should be more. Living in one community and working in another, affords me ample opportunity to learn about the dedicated community volunteers and leaders. And let me tell you their numbers are many. What makes a Citizen of the Year is often individual choice, which is why the selection committee is comprised of a diverse group. For some of this group, it is the person who serves, who never says no to any endeavour that would benefit their community or its residents who is worthy. They give of their time, expecting no accolades or compensation. For others, it is the driving force, the person who is always in the public eye, being a strong voice and a forward thinker, that should be chosen. To some, a Citizen of the Year is someone who’s made a very special impact on the community over the course of a specific time, while others may feel that recognition should go to the stalwart, the continued presence within the community. Stil! others may feel it’s a person of generous heart and spirit who makes our communities special, the one who is first there to soothe in difficult times, who never forgets a special day, someone who has never met a stranger. With so many feelings regarding what might make an individual stand out from the rest of the deserving, making the selection is seldom easy, whether it’s from a small or large field of candidates. It would be nice, therefore, if the committee members will anguish anyway, that we make it worth their while. It would be nice to see service clubs, which know the efforts of their members, nominate one of their own. Schools and churches could recognize a volunteer. Individuals could bring to light the names of those people who offer a strong shoulder in difficult times, who simply by the strength and kindness of their presence make a town better. Many of the successes in our small communities, and the things that make them special can be attributed to people such as the two chosen this year from a field of competitors. They are both extremely deserving individuals. Special people deserve recognition. Watch for the nomination forms in the paper next year and make sure everyone who should be honoured, is at least given the chance.